Duncan
Duncan was given to 190 boys in 2025, #1,124 among boys’ names; 21,230 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 17,000 Americans named Duncan and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (80% of everyone recorded); the median is 28 years old and half are between 17 and 41.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Duncan by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Duncan mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Duncan is “a male given name from Scottish Gaelic anglicized from Scottish Gaelic Donnchadh; the name of two early saints and of two kings of Scotland.” Its etymology gives the senses “brown” (donn) and “battle” (cath).
As a Scottish Gaelic and Irish surname, from Donnchadh, a name composed of donn (“brown”) + cath (“battle”). Also spelled as Donagh and Donaghue, Donahue.
Also as an Irish surname, Anglicized from Ó Duinnchinn, from donn (“brown”) + ceann (“head”).
/ˈdʌŋkən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Duncan?
#1,124 among boys’ names, 2025
Duncan fell from #790 in 2015 to #1,124 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.15 to 0.11 per 1,000.
644 babies in 1997, the peak
Duncan peaked in 1997, when 644 boys were given it, #378 among boys’ names. The 190 births of 2025 are 30% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 190 | #1,124 | 0.11 |
| 2024 | 195 | #1,104 | 0.11 |
| 2023 | 244 | #930 | 0.14 |
| 2022 | 253 | #915 | 0.14 |
| 2021 | 216 | #1,018 | 0.12 |
| 2020 | 217 | #982 | 0.13 |
| 2019 | 205 | #1,014 | 0.11 |
| 2018 | 235 | #917 | 0.13 |
| 2017 | 251 | #869 | 0.14 |
| 2016 | 286 | #806 | 0.15 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 294 | #790 | 0.15 |
| 2014 | 287 | #801 | 0.15 |
| 2013 | 262 | #823 | 0.14 |
| 2012 | 263 | #831 | 0.14 |
| 2011 | 275 | #801 | 0.14 |
| 2010 | 329 | #709 | 0.17 |
| 2009 | 318 | #735 | 0.16 |
| 2008 | 324 | #716 | 0.16 |
| 2007 | 288 | #765 | 0.14 |
| 2006 | 351 | #656 | 0.17 |
| 2005 | 359 | #619 | 0.18 |
| 2004 | 402 | #567 | 0.20 |
| 2003 | 421 | #543 | 0.21 |
| 2002 | 472 | #487 | 0.24 |
| 2001 | 500 | #474 | 0.26 |
| 2000 | 530 | #447 | 0.27 |
| 1999 | 576 | #410 | 0.30 |
| 1998 | 641 | #386 | 0.34 |
| 1997 | 644 | #378 | 0.34 |
| 1996 | 505 | #444 | 0.27 |
| 1995 | 456 | #473 | 0.24 |
| 1994 | 388 | #512 | 0.20 |
| 1993 | 326 | #566 | 0.17 |
| 1992 | 260 | #637 | 0.13 |
| 1991 | 235 | #659 | 0.12 |
| 1990 | 190 | #736 | 0.09 |
| 1989 | 208 | #687 | 0.10 |
| 1988 | 170 | #720 | 0.09 |
| 1987 | 163 | #715 | 0.09 |
| 1986 | 162 | #712 | 0.09 |
| 1985 | 164 | #690 | 0.09 |
| 1984 | 137 | #746 | 0.08 |
| 1983 | 132 | #753 | 0.07 |
| 1982 | 94 | #922 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 85 | #980 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 99 | #901 | 0.06 |
| 1979 | 85 | #961 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 85 | #940 | 0.05 |
| 1977 | 76 | #984 | 0.05 |
| 1976 | 83 | #915 | 0.05 |
| 1975 | 85 | #896 | 0.05 |
| 1974 | 85 | #871 | 0.05 |
| 1973 | 121 | #728 | 0.08 |
| 1972 | 84 | #879 | 0.05 |
| 1971 | 95 | #829 | 0.05 |
| 1970 | 134 | #713 | 0.07 |
| 1969 | 97 | #785 | 0.05 |
| 1968 | 98 | #749 | 0.06 |
| 1967 | 84 | #795 | 0.05 |
| 1966 | 106 | #722 | 0.06 |
| 1965 | 126 | #661 | 0.07 |
| 1964 | 154 | #626 | 0.08 |
| 1963 | 263 | #493 | 0.13 |
| 1962 | 142 | #649 | 0.07 |
| 1961 | 145 | #650 | 0.07 |
| 1960 | 174 | #594 | 0.08 |
| 1959 | 253 | #490 | 0.12 |
| 1958 | 281 | #472 | 0.13 |
| 1957 | 208 | #536 | 0.10 |
| 1956 | 178 | #567 | 0.08 |
| 1955 | 145 | #615 | 0.07 |
| 1954 | 157 | #588 | 0.08 |
| 1953 | 149 | #589 | 0.08 |
| 1952 | 141 | #588 | 0.07 |
| 1951 | 138 | #590 | 0.07 |
| 1950 | 133 | #589 | 0.07 |
| 1949 | 140 | #567 | 0.08 |
| 1948 | 133 | #578 | 0.08 |
| 1947 | 158 | #538 | 0.09 |
| 1946 | 120 | #586 | 0.07 |
| 1945 | 114 | #563 | 0.08 |
| 1944 | 102 | #612 | 0.07 |
| 1943 | 106 | #613 | 0.07 |
| 1942 | 117 | #572 | 0.08 |
| 1941 | 101 | #590 | 0.08 |
| 1940 | 87 | #643 | 0.08 |
| 1939 | 67 | #734 | 0.06 |
| 1938 | 69 | #738 | 0.06 |
| 1937 | 71 | #716 | 0.07 |
| 1936 | 68 | #732 | 0.07 |
| 1935 | 67 | #753 | 0.06 |
| 1934 | 53 | #866 | 0.05 |
| 1933 | 61 | #786 | 0.06 |
| 1932 | 66 | #781 | 0.06 |
| 1931 | 64 | #785 | 0.06 |
| 1930 | 67 | #786 | 0.06 |
| 1929 | 71 | #757 | 0.07 |
| 1928 | 89 | #665 | 0.08 |
| 1927 | 57 | #899 | 0.05 |
| 1926 | 72 | #759 | 0.06 |
| 1925 | 86 | #698 | 0.08 |
| 1924 | 77 | #763 | 0.07 |
| 1923 | 72 | #779 | 0.07 |
| 1922 | 82 | #723 | 0.08 |
| 1921 | 75 | #775 | 0.07 |
| 1920 | 86 | #696 | 0.08 |
| 1919 | 72 | #762 | 0.07 |
| 1918 | 81 | #703 | 0.08 |
| 1917 | 68 | #762 | 0.07 |
| 1916 | 66 | #754 | 0.07 |
| 1915 | 70 | #701 | 0.08 |
| 1914 | 53 | #716 | 0.08 |
| 1913 | 47 | #653 | 0.09 |
| 1912 | 46 | #601 | 0.11 |
| 1911 | 25 | #614 | 0.11 |
| 1910 | 14 | #830 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 14 | #720 | 0.09 |
| 1907 | 12 | #782 | 0.08 |
| 1906 | 11 | #771 | 0.08 |
| 1905 | 12 | #713 | 0.09 |
| 1904 | 16 | #572 | 0.12 |
| 1903 | 16 | #557 | 0.13 |
| 1902 | 11 | #699 | 0.09 |
| 1901 | 7 | #880 | 0.07 |
| 1900 | 17 | #607 | 0.11 |
| 1899 | 10 | #672 | 0.09 |
| 1898 | 13 | #615 | 0.11 |
| 1897 | 8 | #803 | 0.07 |
| 1896 | 14 | #559 | 0.12 |
| 1895 | 14 | #562 | 0.12 |
| 1894 | 10 | #684 | 0.09 |
| 1893 | 10 | #668 | 0.09 |
| 1892 | 19 | #448 | 0.16 |
| 1891 | 10 | #612 | 0.10 |
| 1890 | 9 | #684 | 0.08 |
| 1889 | 16 | #468 | 0.14 |
| 1888 | 15 | #511 | 0.12 |
| 1887 | 18 | #396 | 0.18 |
| 1886 | 12 | #552 | 0.11 |
| 1885 | 14 | #507 | 0.13 |
| 1884 | 10 | #626 | 0.09 |
| 1883 | 18 | #416 | 0.17 |
| 1882 | 12 | #550 | 0.11 |
| 1881 | 12 | #511 | 0.12 |
| 1880 | 12 | #540 | 0.11 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Duncan a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Duncan has been given almost only to boys: 11 girls in 145 years of records.
Girls and boys named Duncan: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Duncan, and how old are they?
17,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 80% of the 21,230 Americans ever recorded as Duncan. The median Duncan alive today is 28 years old; half are between 17 and 41.
The 2020 Census counted 17,445 people named Duncan (104 women and girls, 17,341 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 16,454 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 316 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,160 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,360 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,520 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 6,570 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,120 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Duncan born?
The states with the most babies named Duncan are California, Texas and Ohio, with 32% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 15 | #1,262 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 15 | #1,312 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 12 | #725 | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 9 | #886 | 0.7× |
| Colorado | 8 | #641 | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 8 | #787 | 0.5× |
| New York | 7 | #1,455 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 7 | #929 | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 7 | #1,061 | 1.2× |
| Washington | 7 | #826 | 1.6× |
Where Duncan is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Duncan is most over-represented in Washington: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Duncan with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Duncan
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Duncan and names like it
- Compare Duncan and TomasBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1990sDuncan peaked in 1997.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Duncan since 1910.
- Scottish Gaelic namesWiktionary’s origin for Duncan: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1997The year the most babies were named Duncan.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Duncan alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with DMost given first.